


A Happy Accident

by born_to_read



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute, this is just 3000 words of them being cute tbh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:33:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24911647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/born_to_read/pseuds/born_to_read
Summary: It wasn’t that Harry didn’t know that he could be very gullible at times.  It was just that Harry thought that things would be differentthistime.Or, when Harry's blind date is a no-show, a random stranger swoops in and saves the day.
Relationships: Harry Styles & Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Comments: 14
Kudos: 85





	1. Chapter 1

It wasn’t that Harry didn’t know that he could be very gullible at times. How could he _not_ know when his mother still reminded him not to talk to strangers when he left to school every morning despite him being seventeen years old, and Gemma teased him mercilessly every time he fell for one of her pranks (though at this point, Harry was only pretending to fall for them since that seemed to make her so happy). It was just that Harry thought that things would be different _this_ time. Things hadn’t been great for him since he had been accidentally outed by one of his friends to the entire school a month ago. As much as Harry liked flowers, he didn’t enjoy finding bouquets on his desk every morning with mocking messages, no doubt the work of the group of girls who felt like he had done them wrong by “deciding to be gay”, as Selena had so eloquently put it. But she had apologized later, and even said that she wanted to make up for it by setting him up with one of her friends, who was also gay, just like Harry. Harry had been too polite to refuse, and besides, he had been quite excited at the prospect of a date with an actual real-life boy. 

Which was what led him to the present situation: seated by herself at a table for two in a classy restaurant, waiting for a date that seemed more and more unlikely to show up with every passing minute. He checked his watch again and sighed, ignoring the sympathetic glances he was receiving from a middle-aged couple seated in the neighbouring table. He had already smiled at them once when he had seated himself; to do so again would only heighten the embarrassment of his predicament.

“And will you be eating anything else, sir?” Harry looked up so to find the waitress looking at him, her expression one of mingled annoyance and pity-and maybe a tad flirtatious, but Harry wasn’t willing to get into that. Harry understood her impatience; there weren’t any empty tables left in the room, and he had seen the long line of people waiting to get inside when he had walked up to the front desk earlier, patting himself on the back for having remembered to make an appointment the night before. Still, he wasn’t ready to give up just yet. 

“He’ll be here soon” he said in a tone that he hoped sounded convincing. The waitress’ put-on smile fell slightly, and Harry wasn’t sure if it was because she had been hoping to get rid of him or because he had disclosed the gender of his date. In any case, she tutted and walked away. Harry turned back to the now empty bowl of soup he had ordered twenty minutes ago, when he hadn’t yet given up hope. Now, he toyed with the spoon, pretending that there was still something left in the bowl.

He could feel everyone’s eyes on him. Well, not everyone, he knew. But it still felt like it. He was Carrie at the prom covered in blood and the rest of the school was laughing at him. Without any warning, a sob slipped through his lips. Embarrassed, he pulled a napkin from the napkin holder and proceeded to dab at his eyes. A moment later, there was audible thunk on the opposite side of the table. Startled, Harry dropped the napkin and looked up. Seated opposite him was one of the most beautiful boys Harry had ever seen. His eyes were a bright blue and the skin around them got all crinkly when he smiled at Harry. 

“Howard?” Harry said hopefully, saying the name that Selena had given as her friend’s. 

The boy’s eyebrows scrunched up. “ _Howard?_ ” he repeated with evident disdain, “What sort of rubbish name is that?”

Harry released the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “No one” he muttered. It wasn’t even a lie; Harry was now fairly certain the boy didn’t exist outside Selena’s lying mouth and his own imagination. 

“Well, I’m Louis. Much better name, innit?” the boy said, shaking his fringe out of his eyes and holding out his hand for Harry to shake. 

“ _Louis_ ” Harry said. He was right, it did sound much nicer than Howard. But Harry didn’t say so. Instead, he asked, “And why are you sitting at my table, Louis?”

“I’d been watching you for a bit” Louis said sheepishly, an admission which, from anyone else, would have put Harry on guard. Instead, when it came from Louis’ mouth, he was oddly endeared. He shook himself out of his stupor and listened as Louis continued, “I reckoned that you’d been stood up. So I decided to be your knight in shining armour”

Harry sat up stiffly. “I don’t need any saving, thank you very much” he said. 

“I didn’t mean that you did. I just know what it’s like to be in your situation, so-”

“Someone’s stood _you_ up?” Harry interrupted before he could help himself, and then cringed at how shocked he sounded. He fiddled with the bracelets on his hand as he waited for a reply, not wanting Louis to see how flushed his face had become. 

“Well … no, but some lad tricked Lottie once, and that’s close enough. Lottie’s my sister” he added, probably noting how Harry’s mouth had opened to ask.

“Oh. Is she okay?” Harry asked, worried. 

Louis laughed loudly at the question. “That was a year ago, Curly! So yes, I would assume she is. If not, I’ll have to teach my sister a thing or two about dating in teenage years.” 

“She’s around your age, then?” Harry asked, sneakily attempting to gauge Louis’ age. He was also steadily ignoring the reaction Louis’ pet-name had on him. 

Louis smirked, relaying that he knew exactly what Harry was trying to do before saying, “She’s thirteen, so not really. We’re six years apart” 

“Wow” Harry breathed. Louis was _nineteen_ then, he calculated quickly. 

“Yeah. So that’s why I’m here.” he announced. 

“I still didn’t need saving” Harry muttered half-heartedly. 

“Are you asking me to leave, then?” Louis asked, raising an eyebrow challengingly, and even made to rise from his seat. 

Harry was about to answer when he caught sight of a familiar figure outside the glass windows of the restaurant: one of Selena’s friends, he realized. She was holding a phone up, and the frown on her face indicated that this was not what she had expected to find. She had probably hoped to find Harry sitting miserably by himself and take a few photos, which she would later pass around in their class and laugh at. 

“No, don’t!” Harry cried, surprising himself by reaching over and tugging at Louis’ hand to pull him down. 

Louis clearly hadn’t expected the action either, but he didn’t look like he was opposed to it. “Who’s that?” he asked, following Harry’s gaze and swerving around in his seat to look at Selena’s friend.

“Don’t look at her” Harry groaned, covering his face with his hands. Louis ignored him and waved pleasantly. 

“She doesn’t look happy” Louis stated the obvious, looking unnecessarily gleeful. Unnecessary because _he_ didn’t know about Selena’s evil plan. 

“Just … stay” Harry said defeatedly. 

“I’m not sure I can” Louis said, and Harry felt his heart plummet. “Because I can’t afford anything on the menu here” Louis elaborated, the corners of his lips quirking up.

“Why were you in the restaurant in the first place, then?” Harry asked, regretting how accusatory his tone was. 

“Dropping my stepfather off for a board meeting” Louis said promptly, signalling towards the backroom with his thumb. Then, leaning forward, he said in a conspiratory whisper, “Company pays.”

Harry giggled. “I only ordered a soup” he said, “I don’t think I can afford much else either” 

“That’s that, then. Though … I wouldn’t say no to some fish ‘n’ chips right now. I know a good chippy not too far away, if you’re up for that?”

Harry smiled widely at the invitation, nodding. “I’d love that. Let me just pay for this soup and we’ll be on our way” he said, already attempting to catch the attention of the waitress from earlier. 

“What’ll it be, then?” she asked once she saw him and walked over, looking relieved. 

“Nothing, just the bill, please” Harry said, smiling sheepishly.

Her lips curled but she said nothing as she cleared the solitary bowl off the table and wiped the wood a little _too_ aggressively with a cloth. 

Louis chuckled as soon as her back was turned. “That was uncalled for” he said in a low tone. 

“I don’t blame her. I’ve been sitting here for the better part of an hour now”

“Oh-I just thought she was homophobic” Louis said with a careless shrug. “Wait-you’re not, are you?”

“What, homophobic?” Harry asked incredulously, and, when Louis nodded, looking completely serious, he shook his head. “I’m _gay_ , Lewis” 

“That’s not how you say my name, Curly” he said, sounding more fond than irritated. 

“Well, I’m not called ‘Curly’ either, so it’s fair” Harry said. 

Louis opened his mouth, but he was interrupted by the waitress returning with the bill. She plastered a smile on her face as Harry dug into his pockets for his wallet. He returned the smile as he counted out the amount, adding a generous tip. She seemed considerably mollified as she walked away. 

“Are you ready to go, then?” Louis asked. 

“More than” Harry said with a nod. 

“So …” Louis went on a minute later, skipping as he walked on the pavement. Harry trudged along beside him, speeding up every so often to keep up with Louis. “Is there a reason your date didn’t show up today, or shouldn’t I ask?”

Harry sighed. He had come to terms with the situation by now. Besides, he had met Louis, and that alone made it one of the better dates he had been on; for reference, he had been on a grand total of _three_ dates in his life, present date included, and the others had both been with girls. So it wasn’t like there was much to compete with in that area. “One of the girls in my class lied to me about having a friend who she thought I would get along with” 

Louis looked concerned. “Why?”

“I don’t know,” Harry said, feeling very charitable upon doing so. He could think of a few reasons, all of which did not paint Selena in a particularly appealing light, but he decided that there was no need to get into all that. He would rather talk to Louis about something else, like his sister, or maybe how he got his hair to look so fluffy and nice. 

“Some people are just born awful, I suppose” Louis said, accepting the answer as the truth or perhaps-more likely-realizing that Harry didn’t want to talk about it. 

“Do you live near here, then?” Harry piped up, unwilling to let the momentary silence persist for any longer. 

“Not far from here. We only just moved here from Doncaster this month. My stepfather got this fancy new promotion which needed him to be in London, and me mum hadn’t returned to work after quitting her job to look after the young ones, so we decided why not?” Louis explained. 

“Young ones?” Harry perked up at the mention. 

“ _Youngest_ really” Louis corrected, “Ernie and Doris are the babies. They’re only a year old.” 

“I love babies!” Harry said excitedly. 

Louis chuckled, “I assumed as much from the way you looked ready to jump up and squeal just about now-wait, I have photos, I think” Louis said, rummaging in his pockets and pulling out his phone. He scrolled through the gallery as Harry waited expectantly, and then handed it over for Harry to see. 

“They’re so precious!” Harry said, somehow managing to hold back a squeal. “Are these all your siblings?” he then asked, for the photo also contained four other girls, two of them obviously twins, with blonde hair and matching smiles, and the other two slightly older, perhaps teenagers. One of them must be Lottie, Harry reckoned. 

“Yeah, that’s Lottie, Fizzy, and the twins Daisy and Phoebe” Louis said, pointing to each one in turn. “And that’s me” he said, gesturing at the slightly younger version of himself at the center of the picture, holding Ernie in one arm and Doris in the other and grinning brightly at the camera. 

“I figured that out myself” Harry said, smiling in spite of himself. 

“Ah-here we are, get ready to enjoy the best fish and chips you’ve ever had” Louis said, bounding towards the shop and asking for two plates. 

“Didn’t you _just_ move here?” Harry asked, jogging to catch up. 

“Yes, but the older twins dragged me out here a week ago. We’ve eaten here three times since then, it’s that good”

“Oh, I can pay” Harry said, noticing Louis placing enough bills on the counter to pay for both plates. 

“I got it, Curly. Besides, I you deserve it after having to pay for that overpriced soup” Louis said. Harry couldn’t argue with that. While they waited for their food, Harry told Louis about his own sister, who had moved to New York for University two years ago. 

“I complain about my sisters all the time, but I don’t think I could bear it if even _one_ of them moved so far away” Louis said as he patted Harry’s arm reassuringly. Harry tried and failed in ignoring the shiver that shot through his arm at the gesture. 

The fish and chips _were_ exceptionally tasted, though Harry was well aware that he would find any food tasty if it was eaten while conversing with Louis. After, they walked slowly towards Harry’s house-Louis had insisted on seeing him off-with Harry deliberately taking the long route back so they could walk by the lake. Louis talked about everything and nothing, and Harry was content to nod every now and then, assuring Louis that he wasn’t bored and that he enjoyed listening to him. 

Too quickly, they arrived in front of the large wooden door that led into Harry’s house. With a sigh, “This is me” Harry announced. 

“Oh!” Louis glanced at his watch and nodded, “Time went by really fast, I guess. Well …” he looked unsure as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. 

Harry felt a blush creep up his own cheeks, and then, before he could lose the nerve, he pulled a pen out of his pocket, and, uncapping it nervously, he scrawled his number onto Louis’ palm. 

Louis smiled, and Harry felt his heart calm down. “When can I call?”

“That’s for you to figure out” Harry said, feeling bold. 

“Right” Louis still looked sheepish, for some reason. Then he said, “And who do I ask for?”

Harry was confused for a minute before realizing what he was saying. “Do you not know my name?” he cried. 

“Hey-you’re the one who never gave me it” Louis said defensively. 

“You know my _sister’s_ name, Louis!” Harry said, feeling irrationally jealous of Gemma for having her name known to Louis before him. 

“Because you told me her name” Louis pointed out. Then, after a pause, “So …?”

“It’s Harry” Harry said, “Harry Styles”

Louis whistled lowly. “Proper little rockstar you are, with that name”

Harry ducked his head to hide his flaming cheeks. 

“Alright then, Harold. See you soon, I suppose” he said, walking backwards and waving. 

“It’s Harry!” Harry protested. 

“Whatever you say, _Harold_ ” Louis said, smirking and turning around. “I’ll call you” he shouted without looking back. 

“I look forward to it” Harry yelled back, no doubt prompting the neighbours to think that he was a little bit barmy.

With a wide smile, Harry hopped up the steps, turning around once to look at Louis’ retreating figure. He couldn’t wait to return to school on Monday and thank Selena for setting him up on a date.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is no longer a one-shot ... hope you all like it.

“Ernest, if you put that pen in your mouth again, I will smack you with it” Louis threatened, eyeing his little brother with a malicious expression. He couldn’t fathom how someone who looked so innocent could cause so much trouble. 

“Louis!” Lottie cried, assuming a horrified expression, “He’s a _child!_ ”

“He knows what he’s doing” Louis retorted with a sniff, though he repented yelling at his brother, who was now staring up at Louis, eyes wide open. ‘I didn’t mean that, Ernest, I would never hit you” Louis assured him, as though a one-year-old child would understand what he was saying. Hopefully, he understood the sentiment behind it. 

Louis had been left at home to babysit his siblings-though Lottie and Fizzy insisted that they were old enough to be left alone and someone as immature as Louis wouldn’t be of much help anyway-while his mother was away job-hunting. For the most part, Louis enjoyed the presence of the two babies, Ernest and Doris, and Daisy and Phoebe usually holed themselves up in their bedroom playing dress-up or something of the sort, so they kept out of Louis’ way unless he was required to provide his hands for them to test a colour of nail polish on. 

But _this_ time, Louis had an important assignment due the next day, so he had settled down on his bed with Ernie and Doris. Doris had promptly fallen asleep, being the unproblematic angel that she was, and Ernest had proceeded to play with a pair of socks on the bed. 

The problem arose when Louis began to write: every time he placed his pen down on the bed beside him, Ernest picked it up and chewed on the back of it; he even chewed on the nib one unfortunate time, and thankfully Louis had noticed and rescued both the pen and his brother at the same time. Lottie was perched on a chair beside his bed, scribbling something into a notebook-her _journal_ , she told Louis importantly-and glancing at the younger twins every now and then. 

“And if you care so much, you should take them to your room for the day” Louis added to Lottie.

She shot him a look that conveyed to him that she found the suggestion perfectly ridiculous. “I’m here helping you, aren’t I?” she said. 

“Yes, Lottie. Sitting by yourself several feet away feels very helpful. Thank you for your service” Louis said, sticking his tongue out. 

Lottie returned the gesture and followed it up with an exaggerated smile. A minute later, she rose from the chair and coaxed Ernie into her arms. He looked amused for a few seconds before latching onto her like a koala. Laughing, Lottie walked back to the chair and picked up her book again, resuming her writing. Louis wasn’t going to be the one to tell Lottie that Ernie was chewing on one of the sashes of her skirt, he decided.

He managed to continue writing his book report for the better part of an hour without any distractions save the occasional sigh from Lottie and the soft snores issuing from Doris beside him. “Would you mind them for a few minutes while I go fix us something to eat?” Louis asked Lottie, shutting the book he was referring and gathering the papers he had been writing on. 

Lottie snorted. _”Fix us something to eat”_ she mimicked in a terrible impression of Louis which she seemed to take pride in nonetheless, “We both know you’re going to bring back a plate of toast”

“With butter” Louis said, somewhat affronted, “And that marmalade mum put away last Friday” he added. 

“A regular master chef, my brother is” Lottie teased, jiggling Ernie in her lap. The boy looked up alertly as though he had been addressed. Louis reckoned Lottie might as well have been talking to Ernest anyway, since Louis was far from talented when it came to cooking, and Ernest would probably cook a proper meal before Louis did. “Alright then, off with you! But hurry back. I’m so hungry that I’m willing to eat burned toast”

“Just for that, I’m burning your slices” Louis said as he picked up his phone and jogged out of the room.

“Yes, I’m sure _that’s_ why!” he heard Lottie shout from behind him. 

Once in the kitchen, Louis untied the new packet of bread and popped two slices into the toaster, remembering to turn it on _and_ push the tab down (he had forgotten to do so once, and his sisters had never let him live it down since) and tapping his fingers on the countertop idly as he waited. Noticing his phone next to his hand, he contemplated calling Harry. It had been long enough since he had met the boy, he reckoned. Well, it had been three days, and Louis figured that was the appropriate waiting time before calling a curly-haired, dimpled boy you happened to meet at a posh restaurant. It wasn’t like he had any prior experiences to compare with. 

So he picked up his phone and scrolled through the contacts until he reached the one he had saved Harry’s number under: “Curly <3” Cringing at how embarrassing he was, Louis clicked on the number, worrying his fingernails with his teeth as it began to ring. 

Almost half a minute later-when Louis was ready to cut the call and return to his room to listen to sad music and wallow-there was a clicking sound, signalling that the call had been picked up. “Hello?” Harry’s voice came through the receiver, causing Louis to smile involuntarily. 

“Hi, Curly” Louis said, aiming to keep his tone casual. Which he was. _Extremely_ casual. A second later, he accidentally knocked his elbow against a cup of sugar and pulled his arm away, cursing slightly. 

Harry laughed, deep and rich, and Louis righted himself, feeling his face flush. “Louis?” Harry said.

“Been handing your number out to many boys, have ya?” Louis said, surprised that he managed to come up with something moderately witty to say. 

“Only the cute ones” Harry said promptly, and then there was a sharp intake of breath, as though he hadn’t meant for that to slip out.

Louis’ smile only grew wider. “So, what have you been up to? Other than meeting _cute_ boys?”

“Uuugh, don’t tease me” Harry said, sounding sheepish. “Nothing much. Selena proper blew a fuse when I thanked her, though. That was fun”

“It’s what she deserved” Louis said merrily. He meant it, too; he couldn’t imagine anyone being so intentionally rude to Harry, and had loathed the girl from the moment Harry had told him what she had done.

“I felt rather sorry for her, but then I remembered that I was the intended victim” Harry confessed. 

“You’re too nice, Curly” Louis reprimanded. 

“Says the boy who spent the day with me to make up for my lack of a date” Harry shot back. Then, “And what have you been up to?” 

“Oh, nothing much. I’ve just been babysitting me siblings while my mom searches for a job in the city” Louis told him. 

“That sounds fun” Harry said, sounding earnest. 

“It _sounds_ fun, but you should try doing it for more than a few minutes. It gets very exhausting, I assure you” Louis said, even though Lottie had shouldered most of the work today.

“I think it could be fun” Harry argued.

“Well then, you should try it”

There was a pause. “…Can I?” Harry asked. 

Louis needed a moment to gather himself before nodding. Then he realized that Harry couldn’t see him, and said aloud, “Yeah, that would be great. Me mum’s going to be busy for a few days at least. You should come over when you’re free, I could text you the address. It isn’t too far away” He was rambling by this point, and forced himself to stop talking.

“That would be great!” Harry said, and Louis could picture his dimples popping in his cheeks. And he wouldn’t have to simply _picture_ them for much longer if he got to Harry soon in person, he reminded himself. “Would Thursday be alright?” Harry asked next.

“Thursday’s perfect” Louis agreed, though he would have said that about any day Harry proposed, really. 

“I’ll see you on Thursday, then” Harry said.

“Yeah … I’ll be getting back to my book report now” Louis said.

“Alright” Harry said.

“Bye, Curly” Louis said in a sing-song voice.

“Byeee” Harry dragged the words out before hanging up.

Louis sighed heavily and leaned back, hugging the phone to his chest. Then he sniffed the air, screwing up his nose. 

_”Louis! Did you burn the toast!”_ Lottie’s exasperated cry rang through the house. 

Muttering a string of curses, Louis swerved around and proceeded to fan the tendrils of smoke rising up from the toaster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and Comment if you liked it!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please kudos and comment if you enjoyed it.


End file.
